Toys for Tots has banner year

A generous Fox Cities area came through this year to provide the merriest of Christmases on record for less fortunate children in the community.

Toys for Tots, a program of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, marked its most successful Fox Cities campaign to date in 2015, having collected more than 26,000 toys, organizers said. Those items brightened the holidays of more than 4,400 children.

The program is coordinated in the region by the Home Builders Association of the Fox Cities.

"It was one of those moments where you're just so overwhelmed by people’s generosity," said Megan Schlimm, marketing coordinator for the association. "It’s hard to pinpoint what changed. We’re just happy it changed."

The success of the program required a lot of hands.

There were thousands of donors. Nearly 300 businesses served as collection sites and brought the toys back to the Home Builders Association at the end of the campaign. The Salvation Army-Fox Cities determined what families qualified and handled distribution.

Schlimm said its an awesome experience to see that generosity first-hand as all the toys arrive.

"It's wall to wall," Schlimm said. "It was like Santa's workshop in here."

Major David Minks of the Salvation Army said the toy distribution is among the greatest joys of the job. There were both smiles and tears among moms and dads while choosing the gifts that would make for warm Christmas memories.

For some families, the experience was a bit overwhelming, Minks said.

"They come with nothing, and leave with everything they need to make Christmas special," he said.